This page organizes the recorded statewide starting rules and official sources for Michigan. Court location, local forms, fees, service, deadlines and individual eligibility still require confirmation before filing.
Source record reviewed: 2026-10-29 · Page updated: 2026-11-03 · Not attorney-certified legal advice
Generally, the wait after filing is at least 60 days in a case without children, or 6 months if there is a dependent child under 18. A court may shorten the period for a case with children in special circumstances; going below 60 days is not an automatic right.
The marital/separate classification and division of property and debts must be verified separately under local law.
Divorce Filing Path provides an intake roadmap and source links for this jurisdiction. Selected official PDF drafting is not currently offered for this state; do not purchase expecting state-form generation.
Generally, one spouse must have lived in Michigan for 180 days and in the filing county for 10 days immediately before filing; the statute contains narrow county exceptions. Record actual dates and do not combine two people’s residence periods unless the controlling rule expressly allows it.
Use the official statewide source to locate the trial court or clerk. Confirm venue, the family-law filing location, accepted filing method, current fee and required local packet.
Check whether the state distinguishes regular, joint, simplified, summary, contested or uncontested procedures. Agreement alone does not prove eligibility for a shorter procedure.
Prepare legal names, marriage and separation dates, residence history, children’s information, income, expenses, assets, debts, requested relief and existing orders.
Complete only facts you know. Leave clerk, court, signature, notarization, service and later-event fields for the correct person and stage.
A draft or download is not a filed case. Follow the clerk’s instructions and record service or waiver only after the legally effective event occurs.
Use current financial, child-jurisdiction, parenting and support documents. Settlement terms should match the procedure and be reviewed before rights are waived.
A waiting or separation period does not itself end a marriage. Confirm entry and the effective date from the court’s signed or entered order.
The ordinary rule is 180 state days and 10 county days. A narrow statutory county exception requires specific facts and allegations; do not assume it applies automatically.
This intake question helps organize facts; it does not decide domicile, jurisdiction or venue for an individual case.
Open the official page and read the current instructions. A listed document may be conditional or require local additions.
The local Circuit Court complaint and attachments; consult the current SCAO catalog.
Open official starting point ↗The residence and case information needed when custody or parenting time will be determined.
Open official starting point ↗Check the financial-information exchange rule and its exceptions.
Open official starting point ↗Rules, forms, fees and local procedures can change. These links are the controlling starting points; the explanations on this site are preparation guidance, not a substitute for the current source.